A Second Chance?
by EllaAdeleProvence
Summary: Sometimes, life doesn't turn out as planned.
1. A Phantom from the Past

It had been years since he had seen her, but there she was before him, a seeming phantom lifted from the volumes of his past. She hadn't changed much – the same chestnut hair, the same collected manner – but her eyes showed the toll life had taken on her, especially now.

Beside her sat two girls, maybe six years old. The one on her right took after her father, or so he assumed. Blond curls cascaded around her shoulders as tears cascaded flowed from her soft eyes. The girl to the left of her mother was a miniature version of the woman. The girl pulled on her bottom lip with her teeth as her cerulean eyes darted nervously around the room, just like her mother used to do when uncomfortable.

He walked up to the woman and her daughters and caught her eye. To his surprise, there was no sign of grief or tears in her face.

"Rory."

"Logan, thank you for coming. I didn't expect you." She gave him a semi-suspicious look.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he replied, ignoring her comment. "Chad was a good man," he lied. It was no secret Chad Winston was shady to say the least. _'Good man'_ was probably the most unfitting epitaph anybody had ever bestowed upon him. Rory gave the man a knowing look and he had to fight down a smirk. This _was_ her husband's funeral after all.

"Thank you, Logan."

"If you ever need anything, let me know. Anything at all," he told her, his eyes earnest once again. She gave him a weak smile and nodded. He could tell she was holding in a comeback from the way her eyes flashed, but, again, it was her husband's _funeral_, and she had to keep up appearances.

Logan turned away from Rory and let her turn her attention to the others waiting to console the mourning widow and her fatherless children. _Mourning widow, yeah, right, mourning_. Logan still couldn't believe she had married Chad Winston, of all people, but if her current non-emotional state was any indication, the marriage had been far from her idea of perfect. She acted more like an acquaintance had died rather than the man she had been married to for nearly seven years. _Still_, Logan reminded himself, _she could still be in shock or just too emotionally sapped_. But then how did that explain the glimmer of a retort in her eye that seemed almost... gleeful?

A/N: This is my first fanfic. Short, I know. Please R/R and let me know if I should continue. Updates my take a week due to finals.


	2. Gossip and Wondering

Part I: Gossip

The rumors were flying again. They always seemed to fly whenever _she_ was around, even if it was a funeral. It must be in her genes to attract gossip; after all, her mother, and to an extent her grandmother, did as well.

A couple older women stood in the back of the room, whispering to each other.

"So, of course you know the stories about the Gilmore-Winston relationship – how they went off to Europe then came back married after only dating for a couple months? I heard not long ago that it was because of she was pregnant, but you never know with this younger set."

"Of course, but you know, I heard that the girls aren't even Winston's."

"They had to have been. Anything else is preposterous, at least for _her_."

"Really? Don't you think she might take a bit after her mother? Let's not forget _that_ little fiasco. Anyway, I guess he hadn't been home much in the last couple of years. My guess is that their marriage was falling apart."

"Yes, I heard he had been living in New Haven while she and the girls were staying here. They hadn't even been seen at the same events for at least two years. The story was that he was always away on business, but for two years?"

"Business. Really. I don't want to know what kind of business he was in, something illegal, surely. You know, some people are saying he had another woman in New Haven. I wouldn't have put it past him. He was the type who could have had a whole other family and nobody would know."

"So did he leave, or did she kick him out?"

"My guess would be that she finally got tired of his ways and told him to find residence elsewhere, but I've actually heard that she was the one who was messing around and he found out, so he told her to leave, then she pulled the guilt card, and he left instead of put her and the girls out in the cold."

"He would never be that kind. You know he refused to assist his own brother and left him destitute. Winston never had a kind bone in his body. Besides, she wouldn't have been out in the cold. Her grandparents are in Hartford, her mother runs an inn somewhere around there, and her father, Christopher Hayden, and his family are in Boston."

"But her grandparents disowned her after the marriage and I heard that she won't even speak of her mother or father, let alone to them."

"Really? Quite interesting."

"Oh, here she comes."

The two old biddies quit their whispering as Rory walked by.

Part II: Wondering

Meanwhile, Rory was pondering the appearance of her old friend. What was he doing there? He had never known Chad, or, at least, they had never been more than slight acquaintances. Chad had never liked any of his sister's friends and avoided them as much as possible, herself the exception.

Why was Logan in Boston in the first place? The Huntzburger media empire, based in New York, LA, DC, and Miami, had no interest in Boston, of that much she was sure.

She glanced around the room, trying to figure out where he had disappeared to. No sight of him. She desperately wanted to talk to him. This crowd was becoming suffocating. She felt as if she was going to scream if she was obliged to hear anymore false consolations or false praises of the deceased. Air, that was what she needed, that and coffee. The funeral home coffee was sickening, and she needed something that would put her more at ease. She glanced around to see her daughters in good hands then made her decision.

Getting up, she took her leave of the group surrounding her, claiming a need to use the restroom, and made her way to the back of the room, to the exit. She passed a couple of women who had no doubt just been spreading the latest gossip about her and her family.

_Couldn't they just let a man die in peace, without gossip being spread about him at his own funeral?_ she thought._ People in Boston society were no different than those in Hartford had been years before - vicious, lying, backstabbing dogs with sugar-coated exteriors._

She walked out the doors and into the brisk September air. Fall had set in early and the trees were beginning to color noticeably. Rory walked down the street toward the nearest coffee shop, thankful for the break from societal torture. Her thoughts returned to Logan.

What was he doing there, really? Had he just come to town for the funeral? What did his coming to the funeral mean anyway? Did it mean he forgave her for the past, or was sorry about what he had done? Suddenly she was overwhelmed by the memories of years past, things done and left undone, said and unsaid.

"I don't need this now!" she shouted aloud, not ready to deal with the implications her thoughts brought, not ready to face the 'could have beens', and 'should haves' that raced in her head.

She turned into the small shop and the rich smell made her forget. Coffee was truly the cure for everything, at least temporarily. She ordered, and waited for the woman behind the counter to hand her the cups, but her mind started to turn again. This time, coffee was the cause, not the temporary solution to her troubled mind.

The smell of coffee brought memories of her mother, something that had been happening more and more frequently recently. Rory knew she had to do something to cure the rift that she had created between the two of them. But not now, not until the funeral and it's fallout were over with. After that, maybe she could deal with the issues she had surrounding her mother.

Rory turned and headed back to the funeral home, walking slowly, not yet ready to go back in and face the artificial sympathy of people she hardly knew.


	3. Old Friends & A Few Answers

Chapter 3: Another Old Friend & A Few Answers

Rory re-entered the crowded room. Nothing had really changed in the fifteen minutes she had been gone. A few people had left and others had come to replace them. She couldn't wait until this week was over; no more fake people, well, fewer at least.

She made her way back to her seat, ready once again to be consoled by strangers, but half-way there, she stopped. She was tired of sitting; she wanted to stand instead. So what if it didn't fit the stereotypical mourning wife. She wasn't a stereotype, no matter what mold she tried to fit into.

Once again, the crowd closed in on her. Rory's eyes started to water, but not from grief as many of the people around her thought. The mixing colognes and perfumes of the few closest to her made a pungent aroma, overpoweringly strong and sickeningly sweet at the same time. Once again, she sought air, only to stop in her tracks a few yards away. There stood Logan, this time with another familiar face. If Rory was surprised to see Logan, she was absolutely stunned to see the new-comer. Rory approached her.

"Stephanie. This is certainly unexpected."

"I figured it was time to bury the figurative hatchet with Chad and be the sister I should have been all along. I can't believe he's dead. You know, I hadn't really even spoken to him since my senior year of high school when he refused to help out my other brother, Ted. I hadn't even seen Chad at my parents since before he went to Europe then moved to Boston."

"You forget, Steph, your father disowned him right before Europe," Logan reminded.

"True. I forgot about that. And, you know, Mother never liked him much," she said to herself. Then to Rory, "He was my half-brother, you do know."

Rory nodded. She couldn't help but feel sympathy for her college comrade. Steph looked close to tears.

"Rory, could you tell me where Chad's wife is?" Stephanie questioned.

Rory froze and flashed a panicked look toward Logan who clearly had no idea of what to do.

"That would be me." Rory bit the bullet.

"You?"

"Yes."

"But… I didn't know…When? How?"

"It was in Europe, before moving to Boston."

"Really? You and him?"

Stephanie was clearly having a hard time processing this new discovery and Rory looked uncomfortable. Logan decided to intervene.

"Rory, could you meet us for dinner, to catch up later?" He could see she really didn't want to deal with Steph right now, but it was the first thing that popped out of his mouth.

"Actually, I need to get the girls home, otherwise I would. Maybe some other time?"

"No problem." Relief washed over him, seeing a change of topic coming.

"Girls?" Steph asked.

"My daughters, Amy and Raleigh."

"Oh." A moment passed. "Could I meet them?"

"Sure. They are over with Chad's aunt Vivian." Rory said, nodding toward the two children with an older lady. Steph headed off in that direction.

"You're just going to let her go over there?" asked Logan, watching Steph wind her way through the now dispersing crowd.

Rory nodded, not understanding his objection. "I think that would be best. The girls usually don't like people I introduce them to. They are already quite independent. They like to meet people on their own terms."

"Sounds like they have a bit of Lorelai in them."

Rory's eyes clouded over and her expression fell at his mention of her mother's name and Logan knew he'd miss-stepped. They stood for a moment, both turning their attention to Steph and her new found nieces.

"So, Logan, is that why you came? Steph?" Rory broke the uncomfortable silence between them.

"What?" She had just shaken him from his thoughts.

"I was just wondering why you are here, at Chad's viewing. Did you come for Steph?"

"Oh, right. Well, partially, it was for Steph."

"Partially?"

"My father also asked me to come. Chad had some business with Huntzburger Media."

"So your father said go, and you came."

"Pretty much. That's what he pays me for."

"So you are your father's lap dog?"

"Hey, now."

"What?"

"I'm a 'media mogul in training', not a lap dog."

There was his trademark smirk, something she hadn't seen in years.

"My mistake, sorry."

They looked at each other for a moment, each trying to figure out what the other was thinking.

Stephanie interrupted their silent conversation as she came up followed by Amy and Raleigh.

"Mommy, can we go soon?" asked the dark haired girl.

"Soon, Raleigh. Mommy just needs to finish talking to her friends." By now the room was sparsely occupied.

"Okay."

Rory turned to say goodbye to Logan and Steph, but instead saw the little blonde girl motioning Logan to come down to her level. He gave a quick glance to Rory who just smiled slightly and gave a little nod. Logan squatted down in front of the girl.

"You're Mommy's friend, right?" Logan nodded and she continued. "I'm Amy, and that's my sister, Raleigh. She's shy."

"Pleased to meet you, Amy and Raleigh. I'm Logan." He smiled and shook each girl's hand. Raleigh blushed. "Tell you what, girls. I've got to leave soon, but next time I see you, maybe we can go out and get ice cream, if your mom is okay with it." Both of the girls' faces lit up. Logan winked at them before standing up.

Rory laughed. "Still charming every girl you meet, Huntzburger?"

Logan smirked at her comment. "Of course, Ace."

Rory smiled at the nickname.

"Say goodbye, girls."

"Bye, miss. Bye, mister," said Amy. Raleigh waved.

"Bye, girls. Bye, Rory," Steph echoed.

"Goodbye, Amy, Raleigh, Ace." He turned to the mother. "Rory, remember what I said earlier. Anything at all." Then he turned back to the girls with a childish grin on his face. "Don't forget, I owe you ice cream."

With that, Logan and Steph left.


	4. The Dairy Aisle & Dinner

Chapter 4: The Dairy Aisle Encounter & Dinner

It had been two months since Chad's funeral, and Rory was picking up some groceries after working and hour late. She was beat. She grabbed bread off the shelf and threw it on top of the Cocoa Crispies and Cinnamon Squares cereal already in her cart. Two more items on her list: milk and bananas. She rounded the corner to the dairy section and ran smack into someone.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were there. My fault," she mumbled.

"No, my fault. I shouldn't have been standing in the way," the man argued as he bent to pick up to pick up an orange that had bounced out of his handbasket in the encounter.

"Logan?" She thought she recognized him and he looked up.

"Rory!" He was surprised to see her.

"Just a second, you _can't_ be Logan. You just accepted blame for something."

"Did I, now? Hmm. Must have been a momentary lapse of judgment. It'll never happen again. I promise," he replied smirking and cocking his head to the left.

"I see you are still as cocky as ever. What brings you to the diary aisle on this side of town?"

"My mother's lack of planning for her non-lactose-intolerant son. She forgot to tell the cook I was coming to visit and all she has in the house is Lactaid, rice milk and soy milk." He made a disgusted face and Rory laughed at him. "So I decided to rectify the situation on my way home from a meeting. And what, may I ask, are you doing here?"

"I have two six year olds at home. Must you ask?"

"Ah, yes. So they actually eat real food?" he asked in mock surprise. "It thought that with you as a mother, it would have been coffee and sweets from birth."

She resisted the urge to slap him and call him a smart ass. "Tried that. It didn't work." She feigned a pout. "And, sadly, the next thing on my list is, of all possible items on the planet, fruit!"

He laughed at her pained expression. "Well, let's go get their fruit, and I can exchange these oranges for some that haven't fallen on the floor. A bit of advice. Fruit juggling in the middle of an aisle is not a good idea when somebody can run into you with a cart."

She shook her head at him as she grabbed a gallon milk off the shelf and followed him to produce where they each attained the sought for items, Logan attempted to juggle a couple apples, which didn't turn out so well, and they headed to the checkout. Neither said anymore until they headed to the exit.

"Which one is yours?" he asked.

"Oh, I'll walk from here. It's only a few blocks."

He looked up at the sky, then back at her. "Ace, it's going to snow soon. You're not walking, especially with all those bags. I'll give you a ride." For some reason, the thought of her shivering as she made her way home appalled him. Why didn't she drive?

Rory saw no point in arguing. The look in his eyes told her it was a moot issue anyway, so she unloaded her bags into the back seat of the black sedan and got into the passenger seat herself. Rory gave him directions and a few minutes later, they pulled up in front of what looked like an apartment building.

For a second he thought he had taken a wrong turn, but Rory got out of the car and started unloading her bags. Logan followed suit and started to help her. She gave him a look that clearly said _'I can do this on my own. I don't need your help.'_, but he ignored it, gathered up the heaviest of the sacks, and followed her to the door of the building, which he held open for her, to her great annoyance.

Sure enough, it was an apartment building, and he decided right away that he didn't like it. It had a cheap feel to it and he got the impression it wasn't someplace you'd want to raise children if you could help it. What was she doing living here?

Logan followed her to a third floor apartment. She opened the door and was immediately accosted by her daughters screaming "Mom!" Amy attempted to hug Rory as she tried to make her way to the kitchen. Raleigh followed close behind, trying to see what goodies were in the bags on her mom's arms. The girls didn't even seem to notice the man who followed their mom into the apartment.

Rory and the girls put away the groceries as Logan glanced around the apartment. Two bedrooms at one end, separated by a small bathroom. The bedrooms looked tiny. In one, he could see bunk beds and two dressers crammed inside along with shelves of toys. The living room and kitchen took up the rest of the apartment, which wasn't much. The entire apartment was only 350 to 400 square feet. It was clean and comfortable, but he still couldn't imagine what Rory was doing living here with two girls. There just wasn't any room.

"Where is Jenny?" Rory asked the girls.

"She left around four o'clock," responded Raleigh. Rory was clearly irritated.

"Really? Then who has been watching you two?" She tried to keep the venom in her voice in check, not wanting to upset the girls.

"Mrs. Montgomery, but she had to run and check on dinner for her and Curtis and Mr. Montgomery." This time it was Amy. Mrs. Montgomery was a woman who live a few doors down with her teenage son and husband.

"I don't suppose you two have had anything to eat since lunch." Both girls shook their heads.

Logan walked over to the island counter that served as a table and on which the groceries had been unceremoniously plopped.

"Do you need any help?" he asked.

"Not unless you can produce dinner or a babysitter who won't suddenly disappear without excuse an hour into her shift." Rory glared. What did he think he was doing? She didn't need help. She had managed this long on her own, what made him think she was going to change it now?

Once again he ignored the daggers she was shooting in his direction. "I can handle dinner, and I'll work on the other one." He smirked at her and turned to the girls. "What'll it be? Pizza, Chinese, what?"

"Pizza!" shouted Amy.

"Chinese!" chimed in Raleigh.

"Both? I don't know. Let's check with Mom." He turned to Rory with another smirk. "I see they inherited your fondness for takeout."

She looked at her daughters pleading faces and glared at Logan. Suddenly she had become the bad guy in this situation. No matter what she decided, somebody was going to pout. "Burgers." It was a decision, not a suggestion. Both girls pouted, but then brightened up.

"Can we get ice cream for dessert?" asked Amy and Raleigh nodded in agreement.

"Maybe." It was all the answer they would get from her at the moment.

Logan soon found himself at a diner not far from Rory's apartment with three very hungry females. He had forgotten how much Rory could eat, and her girls were just like her. She alone had a large burger, a huge plate of cheese fries and a slice of pie. The girls didn't eat as much, but did eat an awful lot for six year olds. At length, the girls remembered Logan's offer of ice cream again and started begging him. He told them to ask their mother. She gave him the evil eye and accused him of conspiring to get the girls hopped up on sugar right before bedtime. He said he was doing no such thing, then turned the puppy face on her, begging for ice cream. She laughed and relented, but only if she got some too.

Rory couldn't believe what was going on. First, why did he insist on helping her? It was infuriating and he had no reason to want to help her and her daughters, at least none she could think of. Then here he was, eating dinner with them like it was nothing out of the ordinary. He sat there laughing and chatting with the girls through the whole meal. He even got Raleigh to open up, a tough task for even the seasoned veterans in their lives, but this was only the second time he had met her. Then the ice cream. He'd taken her conspiracy accusations and thrown them to the side with a few simple words, just like he used to back in college, then proceeded to mount a 'sad puppy face' offensive along side her daughters. But then, again, there was the way he gave the apartment a once over, like it wasn't good enough to even be around him. She didn't know what to make of this Logan quite yet.

Logan interrupted her thoughts in between spoonfuls of ice cream.

"Rory, I've got a temporary solution for your babysitter problems. I don't know if you have anybody to watch the girls for tomorrow, but if not, I'll do it, then we can work something out from there."

She was unsure what to make of this offer, but it was better than her current situation, so she accepted.


	5. Inside Logan’s Head and Past

Chapter 5: A Glimpse Inside Logan's Head and Past

The night had wound down as Raleigh and Amy finished their ice cream and they headed back to the apartment. Rory had insisted that she go over the basics (emergency numbers, pick up from school, where everything was located, etc.) at least three times before Logan left, and he was now just making his way home. He had to admit, tonight had been a bit of unexpected fun. He smiled, thinking about the girls, but his meditations were short lived. His phone rang, bringing him back to reality.

Logan fished it out of his pocket and looked at the display. Colin. Shit. They were supposed to have a late dinner and drinks tonight and it had completely slipped his mind. He flipped open the phone as he heaved a sigh.

"Huntzburger."

"I know. I've only tried calling seven times. Where are you? You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"I got sidetracked."

"Well, at least you could have called. Check your voice mail. Where were you, Timbuktu?"

"I met a friend at the market and we had dinner. I forgot, okay?"

"Fine. So, who was this friend you ditched me for? Me, one of your best friends since we were toddlers, me, who is married to your rabid cousin."

"Colin (a) it's none of your business who I had dinner with, and (b) Steph is not rabid and she is my second cousin. I think I'm going to have to tell her what you just said."

"Okay, I'll back off about your dinner date if you won't tell Steph what I said."

"If you must know, I had dinner with Rory."

"Rory, Rory? As in previously married to Steph's stupid half-brother, Rory? As in ran off to Europe and left you, that Rory?"

"One in the same."

"Man, do you know what you are getting yourself into?"

"Relax, it was just dinner."

"And…? I know you, there has to be more to this story."

"And I may be babysitting her daughters tomorrow, but that is it."

"You, babysitting. Huh. Whatever. Okay, forget dinner since you've already eaten."

"No, I'll be there in a bit."

"I said forget it. Besides, Steph just called not to long ago and was wondering if I could come home early, something about wanting to talk about Eli at school today."

"I'll call you tomorrow and we can meet next week sometime."

"Sounds like a plan. Babysitting. Really."

"Get off it already."

"I just hope you know what you are getting yourself into."

"Bye, Colin." Logan snapped his phone shut and thought about what his friend had just said.

What was he getting himself into? Nothing, really. He was just helping out an old friend he had run into, right? At this point, that was all she could be, an old friend. He'd messed up too badly in the past for anything else.

_It was his first year of post-grad studies at Yale, and he had finally got his friends off his back about Rory. They had been dating a few months, not that it hadn't taken more than enough time to get to that point. For two and a half years, they had danced around each other, never quite getting close enough to be considered anything more than friends, but everybody knew that there was an attraction there. He was just different around her. Finally, it had happened, and the world rejoiced. Their friends, tired of the act Rory and Logan were putting on, decided that it was time for them to get together and tricked the two into a date. From there, things had progressed quickly, until he thought he was in over his head. Logan had never had a relationship this serious, or this long for that matter, and something told him that she was the undoing of him, that she was his life. Rory too, felt that this was it, that Logan was it. It scared both of them. Rory broke up with him, but it seemed to be in name only. They just needed space to sort things out. It looked like they were on the road to reconciliation just weeks later, much to the happiness of both's families. It was then that he had messed up._

_It was a going away party for Finn who was leaving to carry on the family legacy at Oxford. In true Finn fashion, there had been alcohol, lots of alcohol, and women. Finn hadn't changed much. The guys all got wasted and lost their better judgment. Colin and Logan were both caught with other women. Steph yelled and screamed, refused to speak to Colin civilly for a month and was mad at Colin for over a year. _

_If Rory had done the same as Steph, Logan could have handled it, but instead, she said nothing. He tried to talk to her, but she didn't want to hear anything from him. Then she left. She just got on a plane and went to Europe. He wanted to follow her, but everybody told him to give her time and she would come around. They were wrong. Two months later she came back and moved to Boston. She was married and pregnant. She had moved on._

_Logan had moped, but didn't tell anybody about Rory getting married. It was his burden to bear. He had caused her to run, and he had lost her._

Now it appeared that Rory had forgiven him, or at least decided to let the past stay in the past, but was that what he really wanted? Did he want to be just friends with Rory, because it seemed they couldn't possibly be anything more? Logan just didn't know. Was he just setting himself up for disappointment and pain again? He really didn't know. All he knew for sure was that if it came down to it, he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

And if he did decide to have a relationship of any kind, be it as friends or otherwise, there were the girls to deal with. That was something new for him; he'd never dealt with children in the past, really. The only kids he dealt with were his nieces and Colin and Steph's son, but he wasn't around his nieces much, and even then they were on their best behavior and closely watched by a nanny, and Eli, even though he was the same age as the girls, wasn't like them at all - he was a quiet and reserved like his father. Then again, nobody could ever be like those girls except their mother. They were of the same unique breed as Rory and her mother. Maybe that was what immediately made him want to look out for them. They were angels, no doubt about that. He doubted they could ever do anything wrong, but they did have their mother's spirit, so the random occurrence of bad behavior wasn't out of the question. Babysitting them was going to be and adventure, sure enough.

He wasn't sure what he was thinking when he made Rory the offer to watch the girls, but he had offered, that much he was certain of. Again, his thoughts mirrored Colin's words. _Babysitting. Really._ What was he thinking? Logan had never babysat in his entire life. Sure, he had watched his sister on occasion when something came up and the nanny wasn't around, but she was only three years younger than himself, and there had been servants around to help if need be. Now it was just going to be him and the girls.


	6. Coffee, Conversations & Christmas

A/N: I realize I haven't been doing disclaimers, so here it is. This applies to the entire story.

**Disclaimer**: All characters and situations from _Gilmore Girls_ are properties of Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Hofflund/Polone in association with Warner Bros. Television. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 6: Conversations, Coffee and Christmas Invites

Rory had worked late. She had a deadline to meet and her article wasn't perfect, so she had decided to stay after, in spite of the gnawing in her gut that either Logan was corrupting her girls or they were overwhelming him. Rory had picked up the phone innumerable times that day only put the receiver back in the cradle again before dialing when she realized either Logan or one of the girls would have called if anything had gone wrong. She had only actually called home once, to let Logan know that she needed to stay late and to see if he could handle dinner. He was already cooking. _Cooking? Since when could Logan cook? _She told him to get Mrs. Montgomery if he wanted to leave before she was done and he told her to take her time, everything would be fine. _Fine? Sure. He was a first time sitter with her girls. He'd actually told her he'd never watched anybody's kids as she and he had gone over the vital info last night after dinner. What was she doing leaving her girls with him?_ And she didn't even want to think about how weird it was that she had a former college boyfriend babysitting her daughters, let alone that he was also a multi-millionaire. Nobody ever said her life was normal.

Rory pushed open the door to her apartment expecting the worse, only to find Logan and the girls engrossed in a vicious game of crazy eights, and it looked like he was losing. She glanced around saw everything was just as she left it, down to the clean counters in the kitchen. Apparently everything was fine, just like he said it would be.

"Hey, girls." They stopped the game for a moment to greet her.

"Hi, mom," Raleigh and Amy said in unison.

"Did you have a good day with Logan?"

"He taught us how to play crazy eights, we played with dolls, and we helped out with dinner," Amy volunteered.

"Sounds like you had a good time. Now, it's time for bed. Go get ready while I talk to Logan."

"But, Mom! It's Friday night," complained Raleigh

"Yes, and you two are going to visit Aunt Vivian tomorrow while I go to work."

The girls pouted at this but got up and trudged to their room, knowing better than to argue with their mom about bedtime, and Logan started to pick up the cards scattered around the counter top.

"They look like you just gave them a death sentence."

"They'll get over it. Besides, they like Viv."

Rory gave Logan a look that could kill when he stood by the counter.

"What did I do now?" he asked.

"You're standing between me and my coffee."

"I should have known. I just put on a fresh pot." He turned and poured him a mug.

She took a sip, falling into that state only coffee could produce. "Not bad."

He smirked. She was the only person he knew who treated coffee as if it were a fine wine.

"Coffee is not a laughing matter," her expression deadly serious.

He held up his hands in a show of surrender while he tried to stifle a chuckle.

"You don't have to be here, you know."

"Right, I should get going. I'm supposed to meet my dad for drinks. If you need anything, like if you have another babysitter flake out, I put my business card on your pegboard. My cell number is on the back."

"Sure, thanks."

He got on his coat and scarf and headed toward the door.

"And Logan, thanks for watching the girls today."

"No problem, they're angels." He smirked.

She gave him a skeptical look. "And thanks for making dinner, and cleaning up."

"He cooks, he cleans and so much more. He's Super Sitter, able to diffuse sibling squabbles with a couple words and restore Barbie's head to her body as often as need be."

"Nice."

"Hey, I'm in town for a few weeks. Maybe we could have coffee sometime."

"Sure."

With that he left.

Sure enough, coffee was in the future for them. First, Logan showed up at the paper and offered to take Rory out to lunch the following Monday, then he started showing up at least every other day at her favorite coffee shop. Sometimes he brought along Colin or Stephanie, or both, and other times it was just the two of them. Rory had to admit, she liked being able to talk like they had back in college.

About a week after babysitting, Logan decided to breech a topic that he had been thinking about.

"Rory, can I as you something?" he asked as he stared down at his mug, the coffee half gone.

"Sure." She didn't know what to make of this suddenly serious Logan.

"Why do you live where you do?"

She certainly hadn't expected this topic of conversation. "It's what I can afford," she answered truthfully, but the answer didn't seem enough for him.

"Didn't Chad leave you and the girls anything?"

"Just a stack of debts a mile high. Each of the girls has a small trust fund, but it's not much, maybe five thousand a piece. I had to sell everything to pay off the collectors. I'm actually still paying off some of the debts; that's why the girls and I live like we do. It doesn't bother us, so it shouldn't bother you."

"I knew he had debts, but I didn't know it was so much. I know my father was one owed money to, or rather he owed it to Huntzburger Media."

"Don't even think about canceling the debt and giving me back the money, Logan."

"I know better than that with you. Give me a little credit."

"I only give credit where credit is due."

The conversation turned back to their inane banter and both relaxed. They ended by making plans to have dinner with the girls.

A few weeks later, it was Rory who brought up a topic that she had been thinking on.

"How long are you in Boston for?"

"I really don't know. Originally, it was supposed to be just for a couple weeks to help my mom transition to New York, but it's been extended indefinitely. I like Boston."

"And your father is okay with you staying here indefinitely?"

"He's the one who mandated it. It seems he's planning to add a Boston hub to the empire, and he wants somebody in place to get it started. Besides, it's not like I can't do my job from here. I can work by conference calls and work on building up the necessary connections here. I don't think he'd let me go back to New York anyway. He says as long as I'm here, staying out of trouble, and not despondent, I'm staying here."

Logan didn't add that she and her daughters were also a major influence in his staying in Boston, or the fact that this was the first time in years that his father hadn't said Logan was _'despondent'_.

Rory didn't add that she was asking because she didn't want her daughters, or herself for that matter (though she wouldn't admit it) to get hurt when he left. They were becoming quite attached to Logan through dinners and various weekend excursions he planned for them.

The second week of December, Stephanie showed up to one of the coffee meetings without Logan. By now, the meetings had become a regular occurrence nearly every day. It seems he had been detained by a meeting and asked her to come instead, which was just fine for Steph because she had something she wanted to ask Rory. After a brief chitchat about their kids and other such topics, Steph came around to the point.

"I was wondering if you and the girls would come spend Christmas with Colin and me and a few friends."

"I really don't know, Steph. I don't want to be an imposition."

"Nonsense. You'll be no imposition."

"Really, Steph, I don't fit in with your crowd."

"You'll fit in if I say you fit, and I say you fit just fine. You are one of my best friends and the mother of my nieces. Now come on. Come spend Christmas with us at the Connecticut house."

"I don't think it would be a good idea." She couldn't go back to Connecticut. That would mean risking running into her grandparents, and she didn't want to deal with that just yet.

"It's Emily and Richard you're worried about, right? Well, my parents tell me they are in Spain for the holidays. I don't think you'll have to see them. Quit making excuses. I want to spend some time with my nieces. They haven't even met their cousins yet. Are you going to deny me spending time with my nieces over the holidays?"

"Well, I guess I could come, as long as it's nothing too extravagant."

"Great. I'll send somebody by to pick you and the girls up Monday. I know you said you have something like a month paid vacation."

"Two weeks and New Years Eve and New Years Day."

"Oh, that means you can come to our little soiree."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Please, Rory?"

"We'll see. Right now I need to get back to the office though."

"I'll see you Monday night then."


End file.
